Caitlyn Jenner Dodges Charge in Deadly Crash

LOS ANGELES (CN) – Caitlyn Jenner won’t face manslaughter charges in a deadly crash on Pacific Coast Highway earlier this year, after prosecutors said Wednesday they lacked evidence to prove the case in court. Officers said Jenner caused the chain-reaction crash when she rear-ended a Lexus driven by Kim Howe and sent it into oncoming traffic. Howe died after her vehicle was struck by a Hummer driving in the opposite direction. But prosecutors said a six-month investigation also revealed that Jenner applied her brakes 4.2 seconds before the crash and was driving slightly below the speed limit – facts that would make scoring a conviction difficult. “Based on the facts, we cannot prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the suspect’s conduct was unreasonable,” prosecutor Patricia Wilkinson wrote in the declination document. Jenner could have faced a charge of misdemeanor manslaughter if prosecutors had decided to go forward. Jenner attorney Blair Berk said she and her client were “heartened” that the Los Angeles DA decided against prosecution. “A traffic accident, however devastating and heartbreaking when a life is lost, is not necessarily a criminal matter,” Berk said. The families of Howe and another driver involved in the crash have sued Jenner in separate lawsuits, claiming the former Olympian was negligent.